battle, as well as of many events of the Great Revolt, the credibility of Josephus has been a central subject of historical inquiry. As the original site of Yodfat had never been resettled nor built over, it provides an almost unparalleled glimpse of both Jewish life at the time and the battle site. Yet although the site of Yodfat had been identified in the mid 19th century, excavations of the ancient town only began with six seasons undertaken between 1992 and 2000. These have revealed that Josephus' description of the events at Yodfat were, to a large extent, accurate. The site shows evidence of hasty fortifications and of a large scale battle which took place. Exploration of the Roman assault ramp as well of the residential areas of the town have produced hundreds of bow and ballista arrowheads, as well as catapult stones, while in the ramp were also found a pair of caligae nails and a large rolling stone. A fill containing a catapult stone in the corner of the northern casemate wall is indicative of attempts at reinforcement against a battering ram. Human bones of all ages were found in every house and cistern, including arms and skulls bearing cut marks from heavy sharp tools. Hundreds, possibly thousands, of people were clearly killed during the battle. The archaeology of Yodfat also reveals that the fortification of Yodfat cannot be credited to Josephus' effort alone. Furthermore, archaeology is unable to provide insight into many of the details he provides, particularly events surrounding the final fall of Yodfat and his surrender to Vespasian. The figure he provides for the population of Yodfat, and the large number of casualties are clearly inflated. A more realistic figure would place the population of the town on the eve of the siege, including refugees and fighting men, at 7,000 people. One find of particular interest is an 8 by 11 cm stone slab, found in the residential area on the eastern slope of Yodfat, covered on both sides with scratched drawings made by a pointed tool. One side depicts a building with a triangular roof upon a podium, a small tree and a harp, and is thought to portray a Nefesh (a traditional Judean mausoleum). The other side of the stone features a crab, the astrological symbol of the Hebrew month of Tammuz, on the first day of which Yodfat fell. The stone is